1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toothpaste dispenser, and more particularly to a freely standing packaging device for administering a ribbon of dental cream or like product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally dental creams are packaged in collapsible aluminum or laminated tubes. Rigid freely standing packages have now come into use and are now being sold in West Germany under the trademark "Theramed". The packaging device so employed is disclosed in German Patent No. 1,210,140.
Various other types of packaging using pumping means for dispensing dental cream have been devised. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,858 to Bosa there is dispensed a ratchet assembly for use in a pump type dispenser. Various types of dispensers for dispensing striped cream products have also been devised such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,789,731 to Marraffino, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,782 to Sethieq.
The prior art fails to provide for a simple, aesthetically pleasing, free standing toothpaste dispenser that employs ratchet means for moving a uni-directional movable semi-flexible plate to extrude toothpaste in a predetermined amount with little loss, while being simple to manufacture, and capable of being manufactured from plastic materials thus avoiding chemical reactions as occur in aluminum packaging.